The Sorcerer's House
with that I can redeem the smallest.
    And that is where I am now, George. Assisted only by Winkle, I was--barely--able to drag the mattress down the spiral stair I have described and into this room. I am seated on it now, and sit proudly. Bottom-of-the-line or not, my new cellular telephone has a time feature, I find. It is a pleasant surprise indeed. The time is five forty-two, and I eagerly await the sound of Martha's horn. I have promised to bring something back for Winkle. As I shall, if it is humanly possible.
    Wish me luck?
    Yours sincerely,
    Bax
    PS: How do you like this paper? I believe it must be hand-laid.

Number 10
T OUGH Q UESTION

    Dear Shell:

    It was great to hear from you! When I wrote you I wondered whether you would ever answer. I misjudged you, and I apologize. This is one time when I find it a real pleasure to be wrong. Remember how we used to sit and talk and play checkers until Lights Out? Half the time we'd get so busy talking we would lose track of whose turn it was to move. When I read your letter, I felt like I was back there with you, talking about how we might get a better cell and what our lives had been like when we were kids.
    Or marriage. You would tell me never to do it, and I would point out that your wife stuck by you all through the trial and was still writingyou every week. And you would explain that was the best reason there was not to do it.
    I can hear you now: "Come clean, Bax!"
    No, I am not about to ask somebody to marry me; but I have met a couple of nice-looking women. More about this when I know more.
    Meanwhile, I have a tough problem and will welcome any help you can give. I have found three gold coins. Yes, I found them; I did not steal them. I am pretty sure they would bring a couple of thousand and perhaps more. The problem is that if I try to sell them I may find myself in trouble with the law again.
    I telephoned a rare-coin dealer and described one of them. He said he could not make an offer without seeing the coin, and he warned me that when he had he would check it against reports of stolen coins. If it matches, he will call the police.
    As I said, Shell, I did not steal them. I found them in the drawer of an old table in the attic. I do not know who put them there or whether they are hot. Sooner or later I am going to try to sell them--to him or to someone else; I need money too much not to try it. If I do and they are hot, I may find myself on trial again.
    And again dependent on a pro-bono lawyer appointed by the court. I have done that, and you know how it turned out. Is there anybody you know in this part of the state who might help me? Please let me know.
    Yours sincerely,
    Bax

Number 11
O F V ARIOUS W OMEN

    Dear George:

    A great deal has happened since I last wrote, and I confess I am at a loss as to what may be important. I must issue a warning, however. You may not wish Millie to read this. Women--some women at least--are so easily offended by anything of an Anacreontic nature.
    Get to the point, you will say. Since when have
you
had truck with women?
    Patience, George. Patience. It is a great and a most noble virtue.
    Martha, it transpired, had not intended that we should dine in a restaurant at all. She had prepared a dinner for us at her house, and though it was plain American cooking, I found it exceeded my expectations: a lamb roast with mint jelly, glazed carrots, and a fine salad.Our cheesecake (which she confessed to buying) was a bit heavy, I thought, but by no means contemptible. I will not describe our small talk during dinner; it would only bore you.
    Now that the time had come, I found myself embarrassed by the need to describe my destitution. Not for my own sake, George, but for yours. I knew that should I describe it, I should soon find myself launched into a description of your affluence. Martha would urge me to seek your assistance, and I would be forced to lie.
Oh, George would help me in a moment, if I were to apply to him,
and all the rest

Similar Books

A Jewel in the Sun

Laura Lee McIntosh

Who Is Frances Rain?

Margaret Buffie

The Flowering Thorn

Margery Sharp

Buried Bones

Carolyn Haines

Ten Days

Gillian Slovo

Tattoo

Katlin Stack, Russell Barber

Finding Valor

Charlotte Abel